So which terrorist could be the next in line?
UP to 150 terrorists could return to Britain after Shamima Begum’s legal victory, experts fear.
A leading counter-terror think-tank said the ruling could have ‘dramatic repercussions’ and lead to an influx of other terrorists previously stripped of their British nationality.
Dr Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society, said: ‘The deeply troubling implication of this judgment is that up to 150 terrorists are now legally entitled to enter the UK in order to appeal the decision in their case.
‘This decision could have dramatic repercussions for our entire counterterror strategy.’
They could include:
■ Jack Letts, dubbed ‘Jihadi Jack’, who was stripped of his UK citizenship in June last year. The 25-year-old left school in Oxfordshire at the age of 1 to join IS fighters in Raqqa, Syria. Born in Canada.
■ Reema Iqbal, 31, and sister Zara, 29, married into a terror cell linked to the murder of Western hostages. The women, whose parents are from Pakistan, had five boys under the age of eight between them. Held in Syrian camps.
■ Ashraf Mahmud Islam, 23, born in London, claims he travelled to the warravaged city of Raqqa in 2015 to ‘help the Syrian people’ before losing heart and surrendering. Former home secretary Amber Rudd issued the order to deprive him of his British citizenship. Held by Kurdish forces.
■ Somali-born Mahdi Hashi, sentenced to nine years in prison at a New York court for supporting terrorist organisation al-Shabaab. Stripped of his British citizenship in 2012 by Theresa May. Could mount a legal challenge when freed.
■ Alexanda Kotey – one of the four Jihadi ‘Beatles’ who took part in Islamic State atrocities, such as beheading Western hostages in propaganda videos. Captured by a Kurdish militia in Syria in 201 . Held by US military in Iraq awaiting trial. London-born but has a Ghanaian father and Greek Cypriot mother.
■ El Shafee Elsheikh – another of the Jihadi ‘Beatles’ also held by the US. Born in Sudan, grew up in London.
Following yesterday’s ruling, one security source said: ‘When these monsters get back to Britain, ministers won’t be able to deport them because the courts put such a huge emphasis on human rights arguments, such as the “right to family life”. It’s a disaster for Britain’s national security strategy.’